Walgreens changes restroom policy after complaint

The Walgreens drugstore chain has adopted a companywide policy that allows people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity after a customer said she was discriminated against at a Hollywood store.

Jessie Meehan, who is not transgender, said she asked to use the restroom at a Walgreens on Sunset Boulevard after she spent about $20 on items there on her way to the LGBTQ Pride festival last year; a sales associate told her she could not use the women's restroom because she looked like a man.

A store manager told her it was store policy to restrict access to a bathroom based on a customer's appearance, although when she complained later, another manager said there was no such policy.

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Meehan, who is active in the LGBTQ community, wrote a letter to Walgreens, suggesting solutions and offering to help train staff. Two months later, when no action was taken, ACLU staff attorney Amanda Goad sent a letter to Walgreens laying out the California law, "which protects every person's right to access restrooms based on their gender identity in workplaces, schools and business establishments."

No litigation was required and no financial settlement was sought, Goad said. After hearing what happened to Meehan, Walgreens simply changed its policy at all 8,100 stores nationwide to comply with California law.

Although Walgreens specified the policy was for transgender individuals, it applies to all individuals. Goad said gender discrimination relating to bathroom usage is not just a transgender issue and that it's relatively common for women who are perceived as gender nonconforming to be questioned or challenged on their way to the women's restroom.

Going down in Hollywood
You better hope that you don't run out of gas
Down in Hollywood
He'll drag you right out of your car and kick your ass
Down in Hollywood
They're standing on a corner waiting for a sucker like you
Down in Hollywood
Now, if you want to stay healthy just keep a-moving right on through